Frozen Assets
by autonwallyluvr
Summary: [Automan]Walter and Automan run into trouble trying to clear a good friend from Walter's high school days who has been accused posthumus of drug trafficking and murder.
1. Meeting An Old Friend

Automan: Frozen Assets

By Autonwallyluver

Disclaimer: I don't own Automan--wish I did. (Ahhh…my very own handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed ahh…just my type, artificially intelligent hologram. Hey, a girl can dream can't she:) I also don't own the characters Walter Nebicher, Roxanne Caldwell, Jack Curtis, Cursor, or Captain Boyd, either. So, please don't sue. Besides, you wouldn't get much money out of me anyway. The characters John Ridge, Steve Daniels, Ted Kovilli, Peter Tang, Edith Kal, and Sam Kal as well as any other miscellaneous characters are mine all mine as well as the story idea, so please ask permission first before using them. Oh, and if the names, characters, places, and incidents bear any resemblance to the actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, they are a product of my sometimes overactive imagination and/or used fictitiously and are entirely coincidental. Well, enjoy.

Ch. 1--Meeting An Old Friend

The gym of the Los Angeles High School had been decked out like a dance hall with streamers, lights, tables, and chairs. There was a space in the middle of the gym for dancing. Some couples were already dancing to some slow dance music playing in the background.

A dark-haired young man dressed in a navy blue suit, light gray shirt, black tie, and grayish blue pants stood in a corner near a table where a variety of food had been laid out looking uncomfortable. Even though this was supposed to be his high school reunion, he still felt slightly out of place. A beautiful young blond woman wearing a sparkling red dress stood next to him looking even more uncomfortable and feeling even more out of place than him. She was only there because he had asked--okay, begged--her to come with him. When he pulled his "puppy dog" look on her, he knew she was going.

He remembered when he first received the reunion invitation…

_He had just gotten home from work. He had the mail in one hand and his car keys in the other. He put the car keys on an end table in the living room of his apartment and started sorting through the mail. Bills were set aside on the end table. He systematically started throwing out different envelopes as soon as he finished scanning them. One envelope caught his attention. The return address was from his old high school. "Hmm…wonder what this is?" he mumbled to himself. He tore open the envelope and read the invitation letter inside. 'A high school reunion,' thought he._

_Suddenly the floor underneath his feet started shaking. The lights around him flashed and dimmed. He turned towards his computer monitor. The words "Automan program compiling." were on the screen. He remembered he promised Auto he was going to update and improve Auto's program. A ball of white light burst forth from the monitor._

"_Hi, Cursor," greeted he. Cursor hovered for a short while near one of the bookcases before zooming off into a different room. A tall, shimmering silhouette of a man started to form near the bookcase Cursor had just vacated. He turned to the man after the man had fully materialized. "Hi, Auto. We'll start upgrading your program in a moment. Looks like I'm not going to be here this weekend, so we'll have to finish the upgrades this week."_

"_Why?" asked Auto, curiously and with a little concern._

_He heard the concern in Auto's voice and quickly reassured him. "It's nothing major. Here, look at this." He handed the invitation letter to Auto._

_Auto quickly scanned it and asked, "A high school reunion?"_

"_Yeah, it's only going to be over the weekend, so I should be back by the following Monday. Come on, let's get to work." The rest of the night was spent upgrading and improving Auto's program._

The young man was brought back to the present when a voice called his name a couple feet from where he and the young lady were standing. "Walter Nebicher?"

Wally spun around looking for the source of the voice. A muscular man with light brown hair and hazel eyes in his late twenties wearing a gray three piece suite was walking toward them. "John? John Ridge? Is that really you?" asked Wally as the man drew nearer. "Wow, you look great."

With a smile, John replied, "Thanks. You too." He turned to the young woman standing next to Wally. "And who is this beautiful young lady?"

Wally gave a slight uncomfortable tug on his collar and said in a self-conscious voice, "This is my _good _friend and colleague from work, Roxanne Caldwell. Roxanne, this is John Ridge."

Roxanne stretched out her hand. John gently took her hand in his and lightly kissed the back of her hand. "Nice to meet such an enchanting young lady."

Roxanne blushed. "Nice to meet you, too."

To distract John from Roxanne, Wally cleared his throat and asked, "So, John, what have you been up to lately?"

John tore his eyes away from Roxanne and focused his attention back to Wally. "I'm a forest ranger now in Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park."

"A forest ranger. Great. That's what you've always wanted, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It's really nice. I like the fact that I get to work with the various wildlife and plants within the park, but the job can tend to get a little boring at times. You know how it can tend to get sometimes."

"I read recently about a fire that broke out in the area you work. Sounded scary. Were you involved?" asked Roxanne.

"Yeah, I was. We got pretty lucky with that one. No one was killed and the fire department was able to contain the fire to the park, but enough about me. What have you been doing lately, Wally?"

"I'm an LA police officer. I work in their computer department," answered Wally with pride taking a business card out of his wallet and handing it to John.

John studied the card for a second to make sure that Wally wasn't pulling his leg before putting it in his wallet. He knew Wally always wanted to be a cop. "A cop, huh? Great! How has the cop life been treating you?"

"Oh, not bad. Not bad at all." Wally shared a quick conspiratorial look and grin with Roxanne before turning back to John.

"Oh, hey, just remembered." John pulled a small commemorative pin out from the breast pocket of his suit. "I want to show you this." He held up the pin for them to see. "I got this for the rescue work I did while dealing with that fire. A friend engraved the back for me." He turned the pin over and tilted it so the light illuminated the engraving. The engraving read:

"_Congratulations Johnnie_

_Love, _

_Sam and Edie_".

John's facial expression became somber suddenly. "Yeah, it's been great. Until recently. Something's going on where I work."

"Like what?" asked Wally, his interest piqued.

"I'm not certain. Steve, my partner who patrols the area with me, has been showing up late. During the patrol, he'll disappear for a couple of hours."

"Have you talked with him about it?"

"Yeah," sighed John. " I tried to anyway. He either changes the subject or just avoids answering." After a brief pause, John said more enthusiastically, "Well, enough of my woes. Come on. Let's enjoy the party." He took both Wally's and Roxanne's arms and lead them to a nearby table. After they reached the table, he held out his hand towards Roxanne. "May I have this dance?"

"Sure," said she uncertainly. Slow dance music was still playing in the background. She looked to Wally, who only nodded his head at her. She and John went to the area cleared for dancing and started dancing. As Wally watched entranced at the light sparkling off of Roxanne's red dress, he suddenly wished with some envy that **he **were the one who had originally asked Roxanne to dance with **him**. She looked so beautiful tonight. He noticed that even though she seemed to be enjoying herself, she still seemed almost…disappointed.

Roxanne was enjoying dancing with John but as nice of a dancer as he was, she wished she were slow dancing with Wally. The song ended and the slow song "Lady In Red" started playing.

Wally got up from the table and went to where John and Roxanne were dancing. "May I cut in?" he asked John.

John turned to him a bit surprised at Wally's boldness. 'He's definitely changed,' thought John. John didn't say anything. He just handed Roxanne's hand over to Wally's outstretched hand and walked back to the table they were all sharing watching almost with envy as Roxanne tenderly embraced Wally as they danced.

Wally put his arms around Roxanne's waist and she put her arms around his neck and gently rested her head on his left shoulder. They gently swayed to the music for a few minutes in silence before Roxanne lifted her head and whispered in Wally's ear, "Thank you for inviting me." She felt so content being in his embrace.

Wally enjoyed holding her. He responded just as quietly, "You're welcome." They danced the rest of the time in companionable silence. Each enjoying the other's company. Whatever worries Wally had about what was going on at John's work were driven from his mind.

Just before the song ended when the singer whispered in the song 'I love you,' Wally whispered at the same time into Roxanne's ear, "I love you." She blushed in response before they shared a quick kiss on the lips. The song ended shortly after that and they headed back to the table John was sitting at still holding hands. The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing and conversing over what had happened since the last time Wally and John had seen each other.


	2. Danger In The Park

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. For full disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 2--Danger In The Park

In the Waterton/Glacier International Park, John and a blond man of average height, his partner Steve Daniels, were walking around patrolling. The orange stripes of their tan uniform coats along with John's commemorative pin, which was pinned to the breast pocket of his uniform coat, reflected the afternoon sun.

They had helped two lost couples and helped some skiers with their skiing gear. All in all, the shift had been rather dull. As there was a lull in the action now, John decided he would try once again to talk to Daniels about why he disappears. "Steve, everything okay?"

Daniels looked at John confused. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," answered John nonchalantly. "You seem distracted lately. Like your attention's somewhere else."

"Well, I guess I'm still a little shook up thinking about that fire we had recently." At seeing the concerned look on John's face, he added, " I'll be okay, though." Daniels didn't really want to talk about the fire. "How did the reunion go last week? Have fun?"

Not totally surprised by the sudden change in direction of the discussion, John replied, "Oh yeah. Met an old friend. Lucky guy had a beautiful woman with him."

"Oh?" Daniels' blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Yeah. Got to dance with her. Don't think he appreciated that, though," answered John, grinning.

"You sly dog," said Daniels, smiling. "Sounds like you though."

The sound of snow crunching interrupted their conversation. Both men turned to see who was coming. A gray-haired man wearing a dark winter coat over a gray three piece suit and a another oriental-looking, dark-haired man wearing a police uniform were approaching there position.

"Hello, Lieutenant Kovilli, Sergeant Tang," greeted John. "What brings you out this way?"

"Hello, John, Steve," said the man in the three piece suit, Lt. Kovilli. Sergeant Tang nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sorry, John. Need to borrow your partner for a minute. He may have some information concerning a case we're working on," said Kovilli.

"Sure. Anything I can help with?" asked John.

"No, that's all right, John. Besides, we wouldn't want to keep you from your patrol. We'll only be a couple of minutes."

"Okay." John walked away from the trio of men to continue his patrol of the park.

The three men waited until John was out of sight, then they started walking the other way. After walking for about one mile, Daniels suddenly turned to the two cops. "What's this all about? What information? What case?"

Lieutenant Kovilli led them to an isolated clearing. He turned to Daniels with his hands raised in an attempt to calm Daniels down. "Calm down, Steve. No case. We just needed to get rid of your nosy partner." Daniels seemed to relax. "We came to discuss a new drug shipment that's going to be coming in in a couple of days."

Daniels appeared very nervous again. "Another shipment? I don't know. This is getting awfully risky with John snooping around."

* * *

In another part of the park, John had just completed a second round of the patrol area. The most exciting thing that happened was he helped a group of Girl Scouts who had gotten lost.

'What happened to Steve?' wondered John. Didn't the Lieutenant say they'd only be a couple of minutes? He expected Daniels to be back by now. He decided to back track to where he had last seen Daniels.

* * *

"Look, you just deal with getting those drugs safely into the country. We'll handle John should he suddenly become an inconvenience," said Lieutenant Kovilli to Daniels.

Daniels calmed down for the moment. "All right. Where do I meet the supplier this time?"

"At the north end of Glacier park."

"North end? No way, man! I got rousted by some DEA agents there last time! What happens if DEA comes around again?"

"Don't worry," soothed Kovilli. "I checked around. The DEA came up blank. They won't be back."

Daniels didn't appear convinced. "Look, things are heating up. I want a bigger cut or I'm out."

"A bigger cut? Why?" asked Kovilli warily.

"Because, man, John's gotten a lot more suspicious. Plus getting rousted by DEA."

"Steve, Steve." Kovilli put his arm around Daniels' shoulders. "We're all friends here, right?"

"Yeah…," replied Daniels uncertainly.

"Well, then, there's no need for greed between friends," replied Kovilli, smiling and removing his arm from Daniels' shoulders.

"Still, I'm taking most of the risk. I want a bigger cut or I'm out," said Daniels.

"You **will **help us bring in this next shipment or you'll be out all right. Out for good," threatened Kovilli.

* * *

John arrived back at the place where he had last seen Daniels with the lieutenant and sergeant, but they weren't there. He didn't see them following him at a slower pace behind him when he continued the patrol. He would have spotted them while on patrol otherwise. He figured they must have headed in the opposite direction, so that's the direction he headed in.

After 20 minutes of walking, he could hear voices not too much further ahead in a secluded clearing. Sounded like arguing, but he couldn't be sure. He was too far away to make out any words. He slowly and silently crept closer. As he neared the vicinity of the voices, he crouched behind some nearby snow-covered bushes unsure whether or not to get involved.

"Look, either I get a bigger cut or I'm walking. You can deal with the shipment coming in a couple of days yourself. Now, if we're finished here, I have a patrol to complete." John recognized Daniels' voice.

As John peered between the branches of the shrub, he silently thought, 'Shipment?' He saw Daniels turn to leave.

"Hold it right there, Daniels," said Sgt. Tang. He had his gun out aimed at Daniels.

Daniels turned around. Surprise registered on his face.

"Easy, Pete. Let's give Steve one last chance," said Kovilli, placing his hand on Sergeant Tang's arm convincing him to lower the gun. Turning to Daniels, he said, "Steve, you **don't **want to do this."

"Oh yes I do," said Daniels.

John saw Lieutenant Kovilli nod to Tang, who raised his gun and pulled the trigger just before Daniels turned on his heel to walk away. Daniels' body crumpled to the ground facedown. Heart racing at the thought of what he just witnessed, John decided to make a quick run for it. He stood up. As he turned to run, his foot stepped on a loose, dry twig half buried in the snow snapping the twig in two.

Lieutenant Kovilli and Sergeant Tang spun towards the snapping sound in time to see John running full out in the opposite direction.

"Damn! He must have heard and seen everything! Come on, we've gotta get him!" exclaimed Kovilli to Tang. They dashed after John.

John knew if he was going to have any chance of survival, he would need to evade the lieutenant and sergeant for as long as he possibly could. The best way to evade them was to stick to the park. He figured he knew the park better than they did, hence it would take them some time to find him.

After ten minutes of flat out running, John slowed to catch his breath looking around for any sign of the lieutenant or sergeant. He spotted a small, disused, secluded camping area and ducked into the area. 'I'll be safe here for now,' thought he. "Shit!Shit!Shit!" huffed out John in quick succession in between pants. 'What do I do now? Who can I possibly turn to? Nobody **here **is going to believe me. The lieutenant is too well respected,' thought John, frantically.

As he bent over to ease his breathing, the commemorative pin fell off of the front of his coat. He picked up the pin. He remembered when he had shown the pin to Wally. An idea formed in his mind. It was a desperate plan, but maybe, just **maybe**, Wally might be able to help him. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to outrun the lieutenant and sergeant forever, he took out his pocket knife. He thought back to what he had overheard trying to decide the best message to leave on the pin. 'Shipment? Wonder if they were talking about a drug shipment?' wondered John. He quickly settled on what he was going to engrave knowing time was against him. 'Sorry, Sam, Edie,' he thought apologetically. He turned over the pin and started etching over top of the inscription.

* * *

In another part of the park, the lieutenant and sergeant had not been able to find John. They slowed their running to a jog looking for any sign of John. After a couple of minutes of fruitless searching, Lieutenant Kovilli turned to Tang. "Let's split up. We can cover more ground that way. He couldn't have gotten too far."

* * *

Back in the disused camping area, John inspected the crude inscription he had made with his pocket knife. 'Well, at least it's legible. For the most part,' he thought morosely. John put the pin and pocket knife in his pants pocket and pulled Wally's business card from his wallet. 'Now time for the hard part. Time to call in the cavalry. Time to call in an old friend,' thought John, decisively. 


	3. Calling For Help

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 3--Calling For Help

John replaced the business card in his wallet and went to the entrance of his hiding place looking for Lieutenant Kovilli or Sergeant Tang. He spotted Tang some distance away heading straight for where he was located. He looked around the camping grounds for another exit without finding one. If he didn't do something soon, Tang would trap him in the area.

He picked up a medium-sized rock and went to the entrance/exit again. Tang was closer this time. Dangerously closer. He set himself and heaved the rocked as far as he could in the opposite direction he intended to run. The rock made a resounding thud as it landed about five feet from John's position. Tang spun in the direction of the sound; gun raised. John chose that moment to run. The movement and sound of crunching snow caught Tang's attention and he spun back around and shot at the same time. The shot went wide, and the bullet imbedded itself in a tree two feet from John's left shoulder.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! I found him!" John heard Tang yell.

John didn't dare look back. He knew Tang was chasing him. He had to lead Tang on a wild goose chase and lose him without running into the lieutenant. He ducked onto a barely perceptible path slowing down just long enough to make sure that Tang still followed him. Another shot rang out. The bullet missed him by inches impacting with a tree on his right as he weaved to avoid being shot.

He careened around a corner barely catching his footing in time to keep himself from falling. He spotted another hiding place in a depression in the ground and ducked inside. Knowing his position was well hidden from the sergeant for the time being from an overhanging tree root, he tried to quiet his breathing. He tried to create as little noise as possible, so he could hear when the sergeant had left the area.

After 15 minutes of thoroughly searching the area, Sergeant Tang was getting impatient with his lack of success in locating John. 'He was just here! He couldn't have gotten far,' thought Tang. He decided to check an adjacent area containing another disused path.

As John heard Tang's footsteps receding into the distance, he hazarded a glance from his hideout. He spotted the back of Tang's uniform withdrawing from his position. 'Good. He's heading in the opposite direction I need to go,' he thought. 'Now all I have to do is elude the lieutenant.'

After counting off another 15 minutes, he carefully extricated himself from his hiding place and took off at a run for a place with a phone. As he ran, he looked around for any sign of the lieutenant. 'So far so good. No sign of him.'

He had reached the edge of a clearing. The back of a log cabin stood at the very edge of the clearing. He figured he would have to cross at least five feet of open terrain before he reached the relative safety of the cabin. He would be wide open for an attack, but it was a risk he would have to take.

He scoured the immediate area for any sign of the two corrupt officers. When he found none, he sprinted for the cabin as fast as his legs would carry him. When he reached the front door of the log cabin, he knocked as loud and hard as he could. "Sam! Edie! It's me, John! I need your help! Please, open up!" he pleaded desperately.

The door opened and an elderly gray-haired man stood in the doorway. "Johnnie? What's going on?"

"Sam, no time to explain. I need your help," said John. Sam nodded and stepped aside. John quickly stepped inside. The cabin was exactly as John remembered it the last time that he had visited--small with only a living room with a fireplace, a small kitchenette with a laundry room off to one side, and one bedroom with a master bathroom.

An elderly, silver gray-haired woman came from the kitchenette attracted by the commotion. "Sam, what's going on? I thought I heard Johnnie yelling." She took in the disheveled appearance of the new visitor. "Johnnie! What happened? You look terrible."

"Sorry, Edie, can't talk now. I'm being hunted by two cops. They killed Steve and now they're after me." He let that last tidbit of information sink in for a few very uncomfortable seconds before continuing. "I'm sorry to bring you both into this, but I need to use your phone."

Sam nodded wordlessly. Edie gasped, shocked. "Steve's dead?" she asked.

John sorrowfully nodded before crossing to where the phone was sitting on an end table. He dug in his wallet for Wally's business card. He dialed the number. A man on the other end said, "LAPD, Special Section. Officer Nebicher speaking."

"Wally? It's John Ridge. We met at the high school reunion a week ago."

"John? Yeah, I remember."

"I'm in some serious trouble and I need your help."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Life and death trouble. Look, I can't talk long. Here's the long and short of it. Seems my partner, Steve, had gotten in with some crooked local cops. I overheard them say something about a shipment coming in a couple of days--possibly drugs. There was an argument over money and next thing I know Steve's dead. Now they're after me," said John quickly. "I need your help."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Wally. I knew I could count on you. I gotta go." John hung up the phone. He took a quick look out one of the windows facing the park scanning for any sign of the two cops. 'Good they haven't come this way, yet,' thought he. He turned to Sam and Edie, who were silently regarding him from the middle of the living room. "I'm really sorry for putting your lives in danger. I didn't know where else to turn. I just called a good friend from my high school days, Walter Nebicher. He's an LA cop. Hopefully, he'll be able to help. I need you to give him any assistance you can."

"Sure," replied Sam. Edie nodded.

"I better go before they find me here." He took a step to leave when Sam caught his arm.

"You take care of yourself, Johnnie," said Sam. Both he and Edie felt this would be the last time they might ever see Johnnie alive again. They shared a quick hug with John before John took off out of the back door heading back into the woods.

He got about ten feet from his last hiding place when he heard the distinctive click of a hammer being cocked behind him. He slowly raised his hands and turned around coming face to face with Lieutenant Kovilli.

"So nice to finally find you, John. You gave us quite a bit of trouble," said Kovilli. "Sergeant!"

Sergeant Tang appeared from a few feet away. He also had his gun out and aimed at John should John try escaping again.

"Let's reunite you with your partner, shall we?" Kovilli waved the gun in the direction he wanted John to go. "Put your arms down. Act normal. Move," ordered Kovilli harshly. John complied by slowly lowering his arms and walking further into the woods under the watchful gaze of the lieutenant and sergeant.

They walked in silence back to the secluded area where Daniels' body was. John was desperately trying to think his way out this predicament. Each more crazy and desperate idea he came up with was systematically rejected. With both guns trained on him, his chances of escaping without being shot diminished with each step he took closer to their destination. Resigning himself to his fate, he came up with one final idea. He knew it wouldn't save his life, but maybe it would help Wally.

They reached the area without anyone noticing them. "Stand next to your partner," ordered Kovilli.

John walked over to Daniels' still body. As he got closer, he saw the blood pooling in the snow underneath Daniels' body staining the snow a pinkish crimson. 'I hope this works,' thought he. He carefully and quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed the commemorative pin. He carefully removed his hand from his pocket and let the pin fall to the ground. He quickly buried the pin with the toe of his boot making it look like he had only distractedly scuffed his boot. John turned around to face the Lieutenant.

"Sorry, John, can't have you talking to the wrong people," said Kovilli. He pulled the trigger and John's body crumpled to the ground next to his partner. Kovilli turned to Tang, "Come on, let's go. We have a shipment to take care of."


	4. Getting Involved

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan-wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry for the slow update. Enjoy! Oh before I forget, I will be posting every Tuesday and Thursday!

Ch. 4--Getting Involved

Roxanne looked up as Wally walked into the LAPD main squad room wearing a white shirt, his favorite black tie with white pinstripes, a gray business jacket, black slacks, and black shoes; his police ID clipped to his left breast pocket like usual. He usually greeted her as he got closer to her desk. He didn't say anything today. He had a newspaper folded up and tucked under his left arm. He looked troubled as he went into the computer room.

Wally sat down at the computer terminal and opened the paper. He stared at the picture on the front page for the second time that day with disbelief. The picture showed a smiling, young man with light brown hair and hazel eyes in a forest ranger uniform standing alongside another smiling young man with blond hair and blue eyes also in a forest ranger uniform. The caption underneath the picture read: "Forest Rangers Ridge and Daniels taken last year." The headline read: "Forest Rangers Kill Each Other Over Drug Deal Gone Bad." Wally couldn't believe it. He had talked to John only yesterday and now John was dead. What was even worse was he was being accused post humus of drug trafficking and murder. Wally knew John had never touched illegal drugs in his life. He also knew John was no murderer. The bogus charges had to be linked to the crooked cops John had mentioned to him. "Life and death trouble, huh, John?" Wally murmured to himself. He looked at the door as it opened and Roxanne walked in.

"Wally, are you all right?" she asked concerned.

Instead of answering her question, he held up the newspaper with the front page facing her. She studied the headline and the picture. She gasped in recognition. "Wally, is that the same man you introduced me to at your high school reunion?"

"Yeah, Roxanne. It is," he replied glumly. "He called me yesterday right here at the station saying he was in some serious trouble and needed my help. Now I read this. John was never involved in illegal drugs and he's no murderer. The last thing I said to him was 'I'll see what I can do.'" A sudden look of determination came over his face. "I have to help clear his name."

He turned to the keyboard and started typing: "Load Automan". The question "What is your clearance?" popped up underneath the command prompt. He typed "crimefighter". The words "Please wait..." appeared underneath.

A sudden rumbling could be heard and felt as if an aftershock had occurred. The lights in the room flashed and dimmed. A white ball of light shot out of the monitor, circled Wally's head once before making a beeline for Roxanne. Roxanne tried to shoo Cursor away from her, but he was insistent on giving her a kiss. "Cursor," Wally admonished as he saw the ball of light seem to gently give Roxanne a kiss on the cheek. Wally stood up when he saw Cursor hover near the door knowing that was where Automan would appear. The tall, shimmering silhouette of a man started forming next to Cursor.

After Automan had fully materialized, he turned and greeted Walter and Roxanne. "Hello, Walter. Hello, Roxanne." He immediately noticed the troubled looks on both Walter's and Roxanne's faces and asked, "What is wrong?"

"Auto, remember the high school reunion I told you I was going to go to?" asked Wally.

"Yes," replied Auto with some confusion.

"Well, I met a good friend from my high school days, John Ridge. Roxanne met him." Wally nodded in Roxanne's direction. "Yesterday, he called me saying he was in some serious trouble. Now I read this." He handed the newspaper to Auto. As Automan scanned the story, Wally continued, "I just know he couldn't have been involved."

"How can I help?" offered Automan handing the paper back to Wally.

"I'm going to need your help persuading the captain to let me go to Waterton/Glacier International Park. I have to help clear John's name." Wally thought for a few moments. "I have an idea."

"Well, I'll leave you to your work," said Roxanne not wanting any part of Wally's plan. She turned and left.

* * *

Wally entered a glass enclosed office with a door partially ajar with Automan in a light blue shirt and blue three piece suit disguised as Federal Agent Mann. "Captain E. G. Boyd" was taped to the door. A man in his late forties with graying black hair was in the office discussing a case with a man in his late fifties with thinning black hair. "Hi, Wally, Agent Mann. How can we help you?" said the gray-haired man, Lieutenant Jack Curtis.

"Hello, Lieutenant, Captain," greeted Automan in return. "I came to inform you of an important situation that will require the involvement of Officer Nebicher here."

"With Wally? What's the problem?" asked Jack confused.

"It has to do with a federal case I am involved in concerning a double homicide in Montana near the Canadian border. Officer Nebicher was the last person to see one of the victims alive. I will require Walter's assistance in trying to piece together what happened before the two murders," replied Auto.

"Of course, Agent Mann. We're always happy to lend a helping hand to the FBI whenever possible," said Captain Boyd. "I'll place Officer Nebicher on special detached assignment."

"Thank you, Captain. I knew I could count on your cooperation," replied Auto. With that, Wally and Auto left the captain's office.

* * *

Back at Wally's apartment near the marina, Walter was packing to go to Montana. Automan looked on. Wally turned to him. "All right, Auto. Almost packed."

The printer nearby started spitting out a printout. "Ah, our reservations are here," said Auto tearing the printout from the printer. He handed Wally the printout to look over.

"Great. Let's get going then."

"We should take the fastest route there possible before the trail gets too cold," replied Auto. Wally smiled knowing Auto was referring to his sleek, aerodynamic, supersonic jet known as the Autoplane


	5. Starting the InvestigationFinding A Clue

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan-wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 5--Starting The Investigation/Finding A Clue

Walter, wearing his navy blue winter coat over top of the business suit he had on when he was at the LAPD--(He had suspected he would need it as Montana is a lot colder than California.)--and Automan--disguised in the same light blue shirt and blue three-piece suit as well as a dark gray winter coat--walked into the main lobby of a Holiday Inn in Great Falls, Montana, near the Canadian border. Wally noticed a handful of pamphlets advertising Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park--the same park John had said he worked in--on one of the end tables in the main lounge area off to the right of the main entrance. "Auto, wait here. I'll be right back."

Automan looked at Walter questioningly before noticing the park pamphlets on the end table. He nodded in understanding. He watched as Walter headed towards the lounge and waited patiently as Walter went to the end table, picked up a pamphlet, and rejoined him. They walked up to the main desk together to check in, each carrying his own luggage. A slightly balding man looked up from behind the desk as they approached.

"May I help you?" the man asked.

"Reservation for Otto Mann and Walter Nebicher," said Auto to the maitre'd.

As the man was checking his computer, Wally opened up the pamphlet and scanned the information and the map inside. "Ah, yes. Your suite is room number 406," said the maitre'd after a minute. He handed Auto the keys and rang for a bellboy to take their luggage up to their room. Auto handed over his bag. Walter handed over almost every one of his bags except one small black carry-on containing his portable computer. "I'll carry this if you don't mind," said Wally. The bellhop just shrugged and loaded the bags onto a cart.

They followed the bellboy to the elevator to their room. After the porter had dropped off their luggage, Walter gave him a tip. He and Auto entered the room.

"Nice. Very nice indeed," said Wally as he looked around the spacious suite.

"Thank you, Walter," replied Automan, smiling. "I thought you would like it."

"The first thing we need to do is figure out the patrol area that John and his partner took the day of the murders." Walter walked over to a nearby table with the pamphlet and his portable computer. He placed them on the table and proceeded to hook up the computer. Once the computer was hooked up, he dialed into the police computer of Great Falls County. He scanned the police database for the case file on the murders of his friend and his friend's partner. Once he found the file, he opened it checking for the area that was cordoned off and searched. "Here it is."

"Okay, I have it memorized." said Automan after looking over Wally's shoulder studying the screen.

"Great. Then let's get going," said Wally as he got up. They walked out of the hotel room.

Out on the street, Auto commanded, "Cursor." A ball of light appeared and started line drawing the Autocar on the street in front of Wally and Auto. With each pass Cursor made, the car gained greater detail until it was solid. Walter and Automan climbed in, and Automan drove them to the south entrance to the park.

The Autocar stopped at the park entrance, and Walter and Automan climbed out. Cursor de-rezzed the Autocar using the same line drawing technique before once again camouflaging himself as part of Auto's dark gray winter coat. They had decided they would retrace the patrol area on foot. As they drew closer to the cordoned off area, they were careful not to be seen by any of the local authorities.

"Okay," said Wally scanning the park before turning to Auto. "Which way do we go?"

"This way," replied Automan. He started walking further into the cordoned off area.

They had walked for about a mile and a half before Auto stopped and turned to Wally. "According to the police file, this is where the two rangers bodies were located." He gestured to an isolated clearing.

"Right. Let's search the area. John might have left behind a clue before he died that the others might have missed," said Wally. He stepped into the clearing quickly scanning for any superficial clues. He didn't readily see any.

Automan was also scanning the area when he stepped closer to one particular spot. "Walter, there is a small piece of metal buried here." Walter approached Auto's position as Auto bent down and started digging. Within seconds, Auto had exposed a slightly bent piece of metal. He stood up, dusted the piece off, and read the front of the pin: "'For Commendable Service'". He turned the pin over. "There are two inscriptions on the back. One inscription has been scratched over top of the other."

The pin sounded vaguely like the pin John had shown Wally. "Here. Let me take a look," said Wally. Auto deposited the pin in Wally's outstretched hand. Wally looked at the back of it. He read aloud: "'TANG. DRUGS?' What does it mean, Auto?"

"I don't know, Walter," replied Auto.

"Well, I can't make out the inscription underneath," said Wally in frustration as he scrutinized the first inscription underneath the second. "Maybe you can." He handed the pin back.

Auto studied the inscription. After several seconds, Auto was finally able to reconstruct the first inscription and read it aloud:

"'_Congratulations Johnnie. _

_Love, _

_Sam and Edie'"_

Wally's gaze shifted from Automan to stare at the pin in shocked recognition.

"Walter, what is it?" asked Auto unsure why his reciting the first inscription had produced such a strong reaction.

"Auto, that's John's pin!" exclaimed Wally excitedly. At Auto's look of confusion, Wally quickly explained, "That inscription was on the back of the commemorative pin John showed me at our high school reunion. He must have known I'd get involved and etched over the inscription in the hopes I would find it." His excitement was replaced by frustration. "I still don't understand what 'TANG. DRUGS?' mean, though. Let's keep looking and see what else we come up with."

After another fruitless hour of searching, they decided to head back to the hotel with the pin to try to figure out what 'TANG. DRUGS?' meant.

* * *

At the hotel, Wally and Auto were examining the pin they had recently found. As Wally sat examining the pin in his hand, his mind kept drifting back to the last conversation he had with John. He concentrated on trying to remember exactly what John had said to him...

_John's voice over the phone: "I'm in some serious trouble and I need your help."_

"_Trouble? What kind of trouble?" replied Wally, wondering how he could possibly help._

"_Life and death trouble. Look, I can't talk long. Here's the long and short of it. Seems my partner, Steve,_ _had gotten in with some crooked local cops. I overheard them say something about a shipment coming in a couple of days--possibly drugs..."_

The rest of the conversation faded in his memory. 'Local cops. Drugs. That's it!' thought Wally. He turned to Automan. "Auto, can you interface with the Great Falls County police computer?"

"Yes, we're already on friendly terms. Why?"

"I'd like to know the names of the officers involved in the investigation. I remember John telling me his partner was mixed up with some crooked local cops. Maybe 'TANG' could be the name of one of the local cops involved in the murders. They may be trying to cover up their involvement." Wally booted up his computer and dialed into the police computer. After a couple of minutes, a list of all of the officers involved in the Ridge-Daniels double homicide appeared. Wally scrolled down the list until he came upon the name "Sgt. Peter Tang". "Auto, this is it. 'Sgt. Peter Tang'. Maybe we should have a little chat with him." He got up, grabbed his navy blue winter coat, quickly put the coat on, put the pin in his coat pocket and turned to leave.

Automan turned to follow him when he stumbled and leaned on the table the computer was resting on.

Wally turned back to look at Auto with concern. "Auto, are you all right?"

"Walter, I'm very weak. All this daytime work has severely depleted my circuits. I'm going to have to be leaving you. I'm sorry. I'll meet you back here as soon as I can."

"Right. Well, see you," said Wally. He watched forlornly as Auto was forced to disappear. He turned back to the door and headed out of the suite intent on talking to the sergeant.


	6. Suspicions

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 6--Suspicions

Wally walked into the Great Falls Municipal Police Station and walked up to the main desk. A young brunette woman police officer greeted him, "Hi. How can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm looking for a Sergeant Tang." He flashed his LAPD badge.

"Sure." She picked up the receiver of a phone and dialed an internal number. After a couple seconds, she said into the receiver. "Sergeant, there is an LA police officer here. He says he's looking for you." A brief pause. "His name is Walter Nebisher."

"Nebicher," Wally automatically corrected her with an understanding smile.

"I'm sorry," she said into the receiver. "A Walter Nebicher." She listened to his response. She looked up at Wally. "He says he doesn't know you and wants to know what this is regarding."

Outwardly, Wally gave the appearance of utter confidence; inside, butterflies were flying about his stomach. "I need to discuss some information related to the Ridge-Daniels murders with him."

"He says he has some information regarding the Ridge-Daniels murders," she said into the receiver. After a brief pause, she put down the receiver. She turned to Wally. "He said he'll see you for a short while." She pointed to an adjacent corridor. "His office is right down that hallway; the second door on your right."

"Thank you," replied Wally flashing her his most heart-warming, charming smile. He headed off in the direction she indicated. He reached the second door with a cheap name plaque which read 'Sgt. Peter Tang'. He knocked on the door. He heard a soft yet commanding voice say, "Come in." He turned the knob and entered the small office.

An oriental looking man in his early thirties with dark brown hair looked up from behind a small desk semi-cluttered with paperwork. The sergeant stood up and extended his hand. "Walter Nebicher? Sergeant Tang." Wally nodded and shook his hand. "Please have a seat." The sergeant indicated a seat across from his desk next to where Wally was standing. Wally sat in the proffered chair. As the sergeant sat back down, his brown eyes tracked Wally's movements. "Now, I was told you have some information pertaining to the Ridge-Daniels case."

"Yes. I was informed you were involved with the case."

"Yes, I am. I am coordinating with Lieutenant Kovilli. He's in charge of the case."

"I knew one of the victims, John Ridge. We were good friends in high school."

"This is all very fascinating, Mr. Nebicher," replied the sergeant. "But what does this have to do with the Ridge-Daniels murders."

"He called me the day he was murdered."

"He called?" asked Tang, suddenly very interested. "From where?"

"I don't know where he was calling from, but he called the LAPD; the special section I work in. He said he was in trouble. Some crooked local cops had killed his partner and were after him."

The sergeant started to get apprehensive but tried not to let it show on his face. "Did he tell you the names of these local cops?"

"No."

"Well, thank you for informing us, Mr. Nebicher. Do you have a number where I can reach you in case I have any more questions?" He stood and Wally stood with him.

"Sure. I am currently staying at the Holiday Inn." Wally took out a business card from his wallet and wrote the name of the hotel and the telephone number on the back before handing the card to Tang.

Tang shook Wally's hand, and Wally turned to leave. Before reaching the door, Wally turned back to the sergeant.

"Something else, Mr. Nebicher?" asked Tang.

"Actually, yes. Did you happen to know John Ridge's partner, Steve Daniels?"

"No, not personally. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no particular reason. It's just John mentioned something about drugs and an argument over money. Well, nice talking to you, Sergeant."

The sergeant watched as Nebicher turned and left his office before sitting back down and going over the conversation in his mind. 'He knows about the involvement of local cops. He knows about the drugs. I better let the lieutenant know. He can decide what to do about this recent development.' Tang got up, left his office, and went to the first door in the hallway. The door plaque read: "Lt. Ted Kovilli". The sergeant knocked on the door. He heard the lieutenant say "Come in." He entered the office and closed the door behind him.

The lieutenant looked up from the paperwork he was working on to see who had entered. "Pete, what can I help you with?"

"Lieutenant, we've got a problem."

"A problem?"

"Yeah. I just talked to a LA cop, Walter Nebicher." He handed the lieutenant Nebicher's business card. "He said John called him the day before. He knows about the involvement of local cops in the murder and about the drugs."

Kovilli studied the card. He flipped the card over. "Is this where he is staying?"

"Yes."

The lieutenant thought about the best way to deal with the situation. "Hmm... That is a problem." He looked up at Tang. "I'll send a teletype to his superiors. They can recall him. Don't worry, Pete. All he has are suspicions. Nothing more."

"What if he informs someone else about his suspicions? What if he figures out what's going on?"

The lieutenant sat back in his chair mulling over the implications of the sergeant's questions. 'If he figures out what's going on, the whole setup will be ruined.' Out loud, Kovilli said, "We're going to talk to Walter Nebicher. Find out exactly what he knows and if he told anyone about what he suspects."

The lieutenant and the sergeant left the lieutenant's office. Kovilli stopped at the main desk to instruct the brunette officer there to send a teletype to LA. He told her what he wanted the teletype to say. After that task was complete, they headed out of the precinct heading for the Holiday Inn.


	7. Getting Jack Involved

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter. Believe me the next one will be longer. Enjoy!

Ch. 7--Getting Jack Involved

In LA, Lieutenant Jack Curtis stood on the other side of the captain's desk wondering why the captain had called him in. He suspected it might have something to do with the investigation Wally was involved in. Wally had a penchant for getting in over his head. Anything concerning Wally always left the captain looking ill, and the captain looked more nauseous than usual.

The captain held up what looked like a teletype. "Teletype from Lt. Kovilli of the Great Falls Police Department. It's about your pal Nebish." He handed the teletype to Jack.

Jack read the teletype out loud: "'The independent investigation Officer Nebicher is currently running is interfering with our own efforts.'" He tossed the teletype onto the captain's desk in mild disgust. "Great," he grumbled sarcastically.

"This was your idea Curtis."

"But, Captain,...," Jack started to object.

"Don't contradict me!" said Captain Boyd harshly. The captain leaned back in his chair looking like he was experiencing an upset stomach. "This could cause an international incident," he said worriedly. After a brief pause to consider his options, he turned to Jack. "Take the first plane out there. Get him back here before he trips over a gun and hurts someone," he said with a vehemence.

"Yes, sir," said Jack, resigned. He turned and walked out of the captain's office wondering--not for the first time--what exactly Wally had gotten himself into now.


	8. Attacked

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 8--Attacked

Lieutenant Kovilli and Sergeant Tang entered the main lobby of the Holiday Inn. They walked up to the main desk. The same maitre'd that had checked in Auto and Wally greeted them.

Lt. Kovilli showed the maitre'd his badge. "Hello. Which room is Walter Nebicher staying in?"

The maitre'd appeared wary. "He's not in any kind of trouble, is he?"

"No, we just want to ask him some questions. We thought it would be best if we came down and asked them in person."

The maitre'd relaxed. "He is in suite 406."

"Thank you," replied Kovilli, gratefully. They turned to the elevators and headed up to the fourth floor. When they exited the elevator, they saw two plaques on the wall opposite the elevator. One said "400-415" with an arrow pointing down the left-handed side of the hallway. The other plaque read "416-430" with an arrow pointing down the right-handed side of the hallway. They turned left following the first plaque. As the lieutenant followed the number plaques on the doors, he soon realized the numbers on the right-handed side were even. Within seconds he and the sergeant had reached 406. Kovilli knocked on the door.

Walter had been examining the police files on the murder investigation of his friend on his computer for anything that might possibly implicate Sergeant Tang in his friend's murder or any drug connection when he heard the knock on the door. He got up and answered the door. He recognized Tang, whom he had talked to not too long ago, but he didn't recognize the gray-haired man standing next to him.

"Walter Nebicher?" asked the gray-haired man.

"Yes," replied Wally, confused.

"I'm Lieutenant Ted Kovilli," stated Lieutenant Kovilli. "I believe you've already met the sergeant here."

"Yes. How can I help you, Lieutenant?"

"May we come in?"

"Okay." Wally stepped further inside the room to let the two officers in. He closed the door behind them.

"Sergeant Tang informed me that Forest Ranger Ridge had called you yesterday?"

"Yes." Wally was unsure where the lieutenant was heading with this conversation. "I already told the sergeant what John had told me."

"I just came to clarify some points, if you don't mind?" replied Kovilli congenially.

"All right. What exactly did you need me to explain?"

"First, how did you know Ranger Ridge?"

"We were good friends in high school."

"What exactly did he say to you when he called you?"

"Like I told the sergeant, he said he was in serious trouble. He had overhead some local cops and his partner arguing about a money deal. He had seen the local cops kill his partner and were after him as well. He also mentioned drugs."

"Did he happen to mention to you the names of the local officers--even in passing?"

"No, he didn't."

While the lieutenant was busy questioning Nebicher, the sergeant was inconspicuously scanning the suite for any clues as to who else Nebicher might have talked to and what else he knew. When he noticed the computer was on, he started edging close enough to read the monitor. When he was close enough to read the monitor, he realized it was displaying the police investigation of the Ridge-Daniels case along with his name prominently displayed in a search in correlation to any implication in John's murder and/or possible drug connections. He walked up to Lieutenant Kovilli and Nebicher and said, "Sorry to interrupt, Lieutenant, but I need to talk to you privately for a moment."

The lieutenant excused himself and they went to a different room. Kovilli turned to Tang once they were out of earshot of Nebicher. "What is it, Pete? Find anything?"

"Yeah, you could say that. I got a chance to look at his computer, which he had running. He was running a search trying to connect me to the murders as well as drugs. He's beginning to figure out what's going on."

"Officer Nebicher is getting too inquisitive for his own good. We're going to have to do something about that." The lieutenant took out his gun and lead the sergeant back out into the room Nebicher was in.

Upon seeing the gun aimed at him, Wally exclaimed, "Hey! What's going on here?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nebicher," replied Kovilli without sounding sorry. "but we can't have you ruining a perfectly good operation. Grab your coat. We're going for a stroll in the park." Wally complied by slowly and carefully reaching for his winter coat and slowly putting it on. 'Come on, Auto,' thought Wally desperately.

The lieutenant put his gun in his coat pocket still keeping it aimed at Wally. They exited the hotel. The lieutenant told the sergeant to get into the driver's seat of the lieutenant's car, a Chrysler. He instructed Wally to get into the front passenger seat. He opened the right backseat door and climbed in with his gun still trained on Wally. The sergeant drove the car to Waterton/Glacier International Park.

At the park, they got out of the car. The lieutenant indicated with his gun which way for Wally to start walking further into the forest. The sergeant also had his gun out and aimed at Wally. Wally started walking all the while trying to think of ways out of his current situation. He could try to make a run for it, but they'd probably shoot him before he got very far anyway. These two knew this park better than he did. Even if he did manage to get away without getting shot, they'd probably find him within a short amount of time. Besides, he'd probably get lost, and they'd shoot him on sight just for the trouble he would have caused them. His best hope was buying time for Automan to recharge and find him. He tried to get them talking. "So, you were the local cops involved in the argument." He waited for any response. Both the lieutenant and the sergeant remained silent. He tried again. "John overheard too much and you decided to kill him."

"Shut up," growled the sergeant. They had reached a small, disused, secluded camping area deep within the park. "Get in there." He grabbed Wally's arm and shoved him into the area while still keeping his gun trained on him.

"Since you're not going to live long enough to tell anyone," bragged Kovilli. "Steve **was **helping us funnel drugs into the country through the park when he got too greedy for his own good. John, unfortunately, was just in the wrong place at the wrong time making him a liability just like your snooping has made you a liability. **This **is the end of the line for **you**." He raised his gun and smashed the butt of his gun on Wally's left temple knocking Wally out cold. Wally collapsed face first into the snow. Kovilli turned to the sergeant. "Make it look like he was attacked and robbed."

Tang nodded, put his gun away, and stepped closer to Nebicher's prone body. He kicked him a few times on the left side in the ribs and grabbed Nebicher's wallet out of Nebicher's pants pocket. He took out the money and tossed the wallet a couple of feet away. Finished, he turned to Kovilli to see what the lieutenant was going to do next.

"Come on. Let's head back to the hotel. See what else we might turn up at his suite," ordered Kovilli.


	9. Unexpected Allies

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 9--Unexpected Allies

About two and a half hours later, a sudden shaking occurred in the main room of suite 406 of the Holiday Inn. The lights in the suite flashed and dimmed temporarily. Automan materialized in the center of the main room. He didn't immediately see Walter in the room. He was about to call out Walter's name as he scanned the rest of the suite when he noticed two strangers talking and searching in an adjacent room--for what, he did not know. He drew closer to the wall to avoid detection and listened to what they were saying.

"... nothing else here," said the oriental looking man.

"All right. Let's head back to the precinct. We shouldn't have any more trouble from that LA cop anymore, anyway," said the gray-haired man.

"Not much he'll be able to do. Not after the condition we left him in at the park."

'They did something to Walter,' thought Auto with concern. He vanished from the room.

* * *

Automan reappeared on the outskirts of the park. He commanded, "Cursor, we must find Walter immediately. His life could be in danger."

A ball of light appeared and Cursor quickly line-drew a sleek aerodynamic helicopter. Auto climbed into the Autochopper and quickly took off searching the park for any sign of Walter. He flew over a small, disused, secluded camping area well within the park boundaries when he noticed what appeared to be a body lying face-down on the ground near the tree line area. The person had dark hair, was dressed in dark clothing and virtually blended in with the trees. After flying low over the area, he quickly realized the body **was** Walter. He landed the Autochopper a couple feet away and got out. He noticed something at his feet and picked it up. It was Walter's wallet. The money was gone, but everything else appeared to be in the wallet. He quickly ran over to Walter's position with the wallet in his hand. He knelt down and put Walter's wallet in Walter's coat pocket. He couldn't help noticing how cold Walter's skin felt under his fingers as he felt Walter's neck for a pulse fervently hoping Walter was still alive. He found a weak pulse. 'He's still alive,' thought Automan with relief. He ran his hand over Walter's body carefully scanning Walter's body for any broken bones. Relieved when he didn't find any, Auto carefully turned over Walter's body so Walter was lying on his back. Auto saw small puffs of air coming from Walter's nose at a frighteningly slow rate. 'He's breathing,' instantly noted Automan with some relief--and anxiety. 'but his breathing is much slower than it should be.' He also noticed a faded bruise on Walter's left temple, which stood out against his pale complexion. His lips were a light blue as well. 'Hypothermia and mild bruising,' diagnosed Auto immediately. "Cursor," Auto looked to the Autochopper. "A thick, wool blanket. We must get Walter's body temperature back up to a safer level."

Cursor de-rezzed the Autochopper, flew over to where Automan was kneeling next to Walter and immediately rezzed up a thick, gray wool blanket. Automan took the blanket and immediately wrapped Walter in it being careful not to shake Walter's body too much. 'Time to test those new upgrades,' thought Auto. Holding Walter close to his own body, Auto generated infra-red heat to gradually increase Walter's body temperature back up to a safer temperature. Auto's desperate attempt to bring Walter's body temperature back up to a safer level started working. Color was slowly coming back into Walter's face and his lips were losing their blue tinge. His breathing was also increasing slightly.

After some time and after Walter's body temperature reached around 96° F, Walter woke up. He felt pain near his left temple and his left side ached. He realized he was wrapped in a thick, warm blanket and someone was holding him. He tried focusing on the face of the person holding him. Like adjusting a camera lens that was out of focus, his vision slowly cleared and he was able to make out Automan's face. He weakly asked in a barely audible whisper, "Auto?"

"Yes, Walter," softly responded Automan, relief mixed with concern evident in his voice. "How do you feel?"

"Tired and my head and left side hurt. And cold," replied Wally, his voice extremely weak. He started to feebly shiver despite the blanket and heat Auto was generating. "What happened?" The last thing Wally remembered was Kovilli hitting him with his gun.

"You are suffering from hypothermia and some mild bruising."

Wally gave a weak nod in understanding. Overcome with exhaustion, Wally closed his eyes and fell fast asleep snuggling closer to Automan's body and the heat he was generating.

As soon as Automan sensed Walter's heart rate slowing down and stabilizing at a lower rate and saw Walter's breathing evening out, he at first feared that Walter had relapsed into unconsciousness. When he felt Walter snuggling as close as he could get to his body, however, he immediately realized Walter had only fallen fast asleep in his arms.

Generating the necessary heat to keep Walter warm while he slept was draining Auto's energy. (He could still feel Walter feebly shivering against his body as Walter slept despite the blanket and heat Auto was generating.) He knew if he didn't find suitable shelter for Walter soon, he would be forced to leave Walter in the same situation he found him. Auto would rather risk electronic "death" than allow Walter to freeze to death; not without doing everything he could to make sure Walter had a fighting chance to recover.

While still holding Walter close to his body, Auto started scouting the area for suitable shelter. He spied a log cabin near the very edge of a clearing separating a small town and the park and started heading for it. When he reached the cabin, he didn't see anyone inside. He looked around for the owner being careful not to jostle Walter too much and wake him but saw no one. With his strength slowly ebbing, Automan decided to risk detection, opened the front door and went into the cabin. The cabin was small with only a living room with a fireplace, a small kitchenette with a laundry room off to one side, and one bedroom with a master bathroom. As he gently laid Walter on a couch facing the fireplace in the living room, Auto heard Walter let out a small whimper in protest at the removal of heat from his body but otherwise remain asleep. Using firewood neatly stacked near the fireplace, he quickly started a fire in the fireplace. Cursor de-rezzed the wool blanket and Automan covered Walter with a soft cotton blanket, which had been laying near the couch. Auto checked Walter's pulse, which was considerably stronger, and skin temperature, which was still cool to the touch but warmer than before. Satisfied that Walter would eventually recover, Auto was forced to disappear from lack of energy.

When the owners, an elderly couple, came back to the cabin from a trip into the nearby town for supplies, they found a dark-haired young man asleep on the couch. They were shocked at first, but when they realized nothing was taken and a fire was burning in the fireplace, they relaxed thinking maybe he was just a weary traveler. Because of their close proximity to the park, they received many weary park visitors. The woman decided to examine the young man. He had a fading bruise on his left temple, and he was still somewhat pale and haggard from his ordeal but sleeping soundly. Being careful not to wake him, she gently laid her hand on his forehead feeling for a fever. His skin was cool to the touch. She told her husband that the young man looked sick but didn't appear to have a fever. They agreed to let him sleep.

Wally woke up four to five hours later to find himself in a cabin lying on a couch covered with a cotton blanket. His left side still ached but his head no longer hurt as much and he was no longer as tired or cold. There was a roaring fire in a fireplace in front of him. The last thing he remembered was waking up in Automan's arms, Auto telling him that he had hypothermia and some mild bruising, and a short while later falling fast asleep in Automan's arms. 'Auto must have brought me here,' he thought to himself. He carefully sat up wincing as his sore left side protested the change in position and looked around for Auto without finding him but saw an elderly couple.

The woman said, "Well, good evening, sir."

Wally looked at them confused. "Who are you?"

The woman responded, "My name is Edith Kal. You can call me Edie. And this"--indicating the elderly man standing next to her--"is my husband, Sam. We own this cabin. What's your name, young man?"

"Walter Nebicher, ma'am," responded Wally.

"You looked sick when we came in, so we decided to let you sleep off whatever illness you have. Now that you're awake, maybe you can tell us how you came to be in our cabin, son," said Sam.

Wally related how he was sick with hypothermia and a friend had brought him here. When they asked him where this friend was, Wally told them he wasn't certain but he knew his friend would be back to check on him.

"That's one heck of a bruise you have," said Edie. She pointed to Wally's left temple. Wally reached towards his left temple wincing slightly as he carefully felt the bruise there. "How are you feeling now?" asked she.

"Better, thank you, but my left side still aches," replied Wally.

"Here, let me take a look," said Edie as she came closer.

"All right." Wally took off his winter coat and business jacket and laid them near his feet. He carefully lifted his shirt so she could take a closer look at his left side.

Edie let out a gasp at the sight of the faded bruises on Wally's ribs. "How did you get these bruises?" she asked with concern.

"I don't know," he said wincing as she carefully probed the bruises for any broken ribs.

She removed her hands from his side, carefully straightened up and said with sympathy, "Well, nothing's broken, thank God, but your left side is going to be tender for a while. Let me get an ice pack. That should help relieve the pain." She saw Wally nod in gratitude while carefully lowering his shirt before she turned and headed into the kitchenette.

Suddenly, the name the young man had supplied clicked to Sam's attention. "Walter Nebicher? You weren't by any chance good friends with a John Ridge in high school, were you?"

"Why, yes." Wally looked at him unsure how he could have possibly have known that. "I was good friends with John Ridge in high school, however he was killed recently," he related sadly.

"We know. Johnnie called you from here the day he was killed. He told us he had called you and we were to provide you any assistance we could. He hoped you would be able to help."

"So **this **is where he called from," realized Wally with a sudden understanding. "I did come to help, however I had an unfortunate run in with the crooked local cops he told me about." Absently, he gently rubbed his sore ribs. He looked at Sam in confusion. "How did you know John?"

"Our house is near his patrol and he visited here often." Sam noticed the wet clothing that Wally was still wearing and offered, "Let's get you out of those wet clothes. I'll have Edie put them in the drier. You look to be about my size. You can borrow some of my clothing." He went into the bedroom and came out with a simple pair of brown pants and a long-sleeved button down tan shirt. "These aren't much, but they should fit you."

"Thank you," replied Wally. He got up, accepted the proffered clothing, went into the bedroom and changed out of his wet clothing. He came out with the wet clothes bunched up in his arms. As he gathered up his discarded winter coat and business suit jacket from the floor where he had laid them, John's pin fell out of the pocket of his winter coat. Neither man immediately noticed the fallen pin. Wally handed the wet clothes to Sam.

Sam took them into the kitchenette and gave them to Edie. She exchanged the wet clothing with Sam for the ice pack she had prepared for Wally's injured ribs. Then, she went into the laundry room, emptied out the pockets, and placed the clothing in a front-loading drier. She placed the contents of the pockets on top of the drier.

Meanwhile, Sam had taken the ice pack and headed back into the living room where Wally was sitting on the couch. He noticed a small piece of metal on the floor where Walter's winter coat and business jacket had been. He picked up the metal and brought it with him. He handed Wally the ice pack. Wally carefully placed the ice pack on his injured ribs wincing at the sudden cold.

Sam sat next to Wally on the couch examining the small pin in his hand. "I remember when Johnnie first showed me this." Absorbed in past memories, he continued, "He was so proud of it. He wanted me to engrave the back for him." He turned over the pin and tried reading the back: "'TANG. DRUGS?' Looks like Johnnie etched over my inscription. I taught him how to engrave," he said proudly before turning to Wally curiously. "How did you get a hold of this?"

Wally recognized the pin and remembered the first inscription: "_Congratulations Johnnie. Love, Sam and Edie._"He exclaimed in sudden realization, "You're Sam and Edie!" At Sam's look of startled confusion, Wally continued in a calmer tone, "John showed me that pin at our high school reunion a week ago. The friend I mentioned earlier and I found it near the area where John's and his partner's bodies were located."

Sam looked again at the engraving Johnnie had made in the pin. "What does 'TANG. DRUGS?' mean?"

"Well, I've been able to figure out that 'TANG' is the name of one of the corrupt cops," said Wally, unpleasantly recalling his recent exchange with the sergeant. "I was in the process of figuring out what 'DRUGS?' meant when I was confronted by Tang and his cohort Lieutenant Kovilli."

Edie walked into the living room. "Your clothes should be dry soon," she informed Wally.

"Thank you," responded he.

She noticed his weary expression and asked, "When was the last time you ate?" She knew he would need to keep his energy level up in order to fully recover from his recent bout with hypothermia.

"Not since yesterday."

"You must be famished. I'll go cook us up a wonderful meal."

At the mention of food, Wally's stomach growled. "Food sounds great. Thank you."

Edith went back into the kitchenette and started cooking a meal. About an hour later, she finished cooking and they all sat at a small table near the kitchenette and started eating.

* * *

Automan had found a generator, which he used to power up, in a city some miles from the small town where the cabin where he had been forced to leave Walter was located. He hated having to leave Walter in such a vulnerable position, especially considering how weak and sick Walter still had been, but he had had no choice. He had used up most of his energy generating the heat necessary to keep Walter warm while they were still outside.

Using the Autocar, Auto headed back to the cabin where he had left Walter. When he got to the cabin, Walter was eating. Auto had Cursor quickly rez up a white shirt, black tie, black three piece suit and a dark gray winter coat over his body before Auto went to the cabin and knocked on the door.

Sam went to answer it. He looked at the tall, blond stranger wondering what he wanted. "Hello. Can I help you, sir?"

"Hello. Yes, sir. I was forced to leave a very sick friend here, Walter Nebicher. I came back to see how he is doing," Auto told the older gentleman.

Sam realized this gentleman was the friend Wally had mentioned earlier and said, "Please come in."

Wally looked to see who was at the door. Upon seeing Auto, Wally said, "Auto, glad you came back. A lot has happened since you left." Wally quickly finished eating.

"Walter, glad to see you're feeling better," responded Auto with an amused smile as he watched Walter swiftly devour the rest of his meal.

Wally grinned, a little embarrassed, and said, "Glad to know you care." His grin grew wider. Auto just smiled in return. Sam and Edie shared an amused grin between them as they listened to the good-humored banter between the two young men. Wally stood up from the table and introduced Auto. "Sam, Edie, this is my good friend and associate I had mentioned to you before, Federal Agent Otto Mann." Wally turned to Auto and said, "Auto, this is Sam and Edie Kal. They own this cabin and knew my friend John Ridge." Both Sam and Edie shook Auto's hand receiving a slight shock each.

"Oh, before you go," said Edie sensing they were getting ready to leave. She went into the laundry room and came back out with Wally's clothes neatly folded in her arms; the contents of the pockets sitting on top. "Here." She handed the clothes to Wally. "They're dry."

Wally excused himself and headed into the bedroom with his clothes in his arms. He quickly changed. When he came out, he was again dressed in his dark navy blue suit and winter coat. The clothing he previously had on were in his arms. He gave them to Edie. "Thank you. Thank you, both of you, for your gracious hospitality and the wonderful food." Wally shook hands with both Sam and Edie.

"You can thank us by putting Johnnie's murderers behind bars," said Sam resolutely.

"We will," promised Wally.

Auto thanked them for taking care of his friend. Both Wally and Auto left and headed back to the hotel.


	10. Setting A Trap

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 10--Setting A Trap

At the Holiday Inn, Automan and Walter went to the suite they were staying in. They noticed the door of their suite was slightly ajar, and they proceeded into the main room with caution not sure who or what to expect. They had only gone a few feet into the room when they saw Lt. Jack Curtis searching for any clue to their whereabouts.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" asked Wally surprised to find Jack in his and Auto's room.

"Well, the captain thought you might have gotten in over your head," responded Jack. "Wally, are you all right?" he asked pointedly looking intently at the faded bruise on Wally's temple.

Realizing what Jack was referring to, Wally quickly reassured him, "I'm okay thanks to Agent Mann, and I found out who the local cops are who killed my friend and his partner."

"We also suspect that the local cops responsible for killing the two rangers are also involved in an international drug trafficking scheme involving Walter's friend's partner, Steve Daniels," informed Auto.

"An international drug trafficking scheme?" echoed Jack confused.

"Yeah, I'll explain in a minute," said Wally. He went and sat at his computer, which had been running the search he had initiated before his encounter with Sergeant Tang and Lieutenant Kovilli. After examining the results of the search on the monitor, Wally declared, "This is interesting."

"What is?" asked Auto as he and Jack approached Wally. They stood on either side of Wally looking at the screen.

"The DEA had been in Waterton/Glacier International Park a month ago investigating the possibility of drugs being funneled into the country through the park."

"Yes, but according to the report, the investigation was closed," said Auto.

"Yeah, but it doesn't say why," replied Wally enthusiastically, feeling they were getting closer to uncovering what was going on. "It could have been because of lack of evidence."

"You two mind explaining to me what's going on?" asked Jack.

"The whole scheme involved Steve Daniels and two local cops, Sergeant Peter Tang and Lieutenant Ted Kovilli. As far as we've been able to figure out, Daniels would funnel the drugs into the country through the park and the two officers would set up buyers," explained Wally. "John, my friend, overheard Daniels arguing with the two cops over money and saw the cops kill his partner. To cover up their involvement, the lieutenant had John killed and the drug trafficking and murder charges pinned on John post humus."

"So how do we prove that these local cops are involved in international drug trafficking and the murders?" asked Jack.

Wally didn't answer right away, instead he looked again at the DEA report focusing on the coordinates searched. He picked up the pamphlet he had acquired when he first walked into the hotel comparing the area searched with the map on the pamphlet. He realized the area was perfect for smuggling in drugs. When he remembered back to his last conversation with John, he recalled John telling him a shipment was due to come in in a couple of days. That was a day ago. The shipment was due to come in tomorrow! He turned to Jack and Auto, "I have an idea." He proceeded to outline his idea to Jack and Auto.


	11. Springing the Trap

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!

Ch. 11--Springing The Trap

Wally and Jack stood stationed out of sight monitoring the area in Waterton/Glacier International Park the DEA had searched a month ago. DEA agents and Royal Canadian Mounted Police were with them also keeping the area under surveillance while remaining out of sight. Wally and Jack had called the DEA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the illegal drug deal going down. Every so often Jack and Wally would catch a glimpse of Auto in a forest ranger outfit seemingly pacing the area waiting for the two corrupt cops to show.

A young Caucasian man approached Auto's position from the north. "Are you the person I'm supposed to meet for the shipment?"

"Yeah, I am, but I'm waiting for the others to appear," replied Auto. "Who are you?"

"Jones. A courier." The young man appeared nervous. "What others?" He searched the area for law enforcement officers without seeing any.

"The two others who usually help."

"You mean the older guy and the oriental-lookin' guy?" asked the man still edgy.

"Yeah, them. They should be here soon."

"All right."

The sound of a snowmobile engine alerted Auto and the young man to the presence of others approaching their position. They turned at the sound and saw Lieutenant Kovilli and Sergeant Tang riding a snowmobile. The snowmobile slowed to a stop as it approached their position. The lieutenant got out his gun as he got off the snowmobile. He aimed it at Auto. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was sent to help with the shipment."

"Who sent you?"

"The supplier. He thought you might need help."

"All right," said Kovilli accepting his word for now. "Let's do this."

The young man nodded and left the area for a short while before returning with a suitcase.

The lieutenant signaled to Tang, and the sergeant went and got a suitcase strapped to the back of the snowmobile. He brought the suitcase to the lieutenant. They proceeded to exchange suitcases.

"Now!" said Jack to DEA Agent Simms, the man in charge of the joint DEA-Royal Canadian Mounted Police operation. Agent Simms instructed the DEA agents and the Mounties to converge on the area. Agents and Mounties as well as Jack and Wally appeared from behind bushes and trees and quickly surrounded the four men. The agents and Mounties quickly arrested the young Caucasian man and the sergeant, but the lieutenant had seen some of the DEA agents and Wally approaching. He recognized Wally and took off running towards the snowmobile. When he reached it, he climbed on and quickly started it up. He took off breaking through a group of agents and Mounties.

Wally ran to Auto's position. "Auto, we've got to stop Kovilli," said Wally. Auto nodded, and they immediately separated themselves from the fray of law enforcement officers.

Auto commanded, "Cursor." A ball of light appeared and quickly created via a line drawing technique the sleekest, most aerodynamic, fastest-looking snowmobile Wally had ever seen. Automan quickly climbed on, and Wally climbed on behind him holding onto Auto's waist. They quickly took off heading in the direction the lieutenant had fled.

They quickly caught sight of the lieutenant weaving through a rather hazardous trail through the woods. They followed. Auto had considered having Cursor create a tree in the lieutenant's path, but at the speed Kovilli was going he might not be able to avoid the tree in time. They wanted Kovilli alive. When they got within a few feet of the lieutenant, Automan reached out his hand and a beam of electrical energy shot from Auto's hand towards the lieutenant's snowmobile. When the ray struck the lieutenant's snowmobile, the engine immediately died and the snowmobile slowed to a halt. The lieutenant also appeared stunned.

Automan slowed and eventually stopped his snowmobile a few feet from where the lieutenant was located. He was leaning heavily on the handlebars. "That beam drained the last of my energy. That will do it for me, Walter," said Auto, weakly. Wally quickly got off and turned to Auto in time to see Auto and his snowmobile disappear from lack of energy. Wally headed towards the stunned lieutenant and using the lieutenant's own handcuffs arrested the lieutenant.

Jack, some DEA agents, and some Canadian Mounties came to take Kovilli away. Jack turned to Wally when he didn't see Agent Mann. "Where's Agent Mann?"

"He had to leave," replied Wally vaguely. Jack nodded, and he and Jack walked back to where the rest of the DEA agents and Royal Canadian Mounted Police were located.


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.

Ch. 12--Epilogue

Two days later, Wally and Jack stood in the captain's office of the LAPD building. They watched as the captain studied the joint DEA-Royal Canadian Mounted Police report he had received on the recent arrest of Sergeant Tang and Lieutenant Kovilli and their whole drug smuggling scheme.

"I just received this report from DEA Agent Simms on the joint operation you two were involved in to bring down the drug smuggling setup in Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park two days ago," said the captain. "Listen to this. According to the report, Tang and Kovilli are going to be brought up on international drug smuggling charges. Tang also brought down Kovilli when he confessed to being under orders by Kovilli to kill Daniels and that Kovilli had killed Ridge and to attacking Officer Nebicher with the intent to kill. These two won't be getting out of jail for some time. Good work, both of you. I'll see you both receive commendations."

"Thank you, Captain," said both Jack and Wally simultaneously.

"Well, we did have some help," added Wally referring to Automan.

"Whatever happened to Agent Mann?" asked Jack addressing his question to Wally. The captain was also interested in the answer to that question.

"Oh, you know Feds. They have their own reports to fill out," responded Wally vaguely.

Jack and the captain grinned at Wally's response before the captain said with mock indignation, "Well, what are you two standing around here for? Get back to work." The captain shooed them out of his office.

"Yes, sir," said Jack. Wally nodded. As both men left the captain's office, Roxanne walked up to them carrying a small package in her hands. When she reached them, she simply explained, "This package came in today. It's addressed to Wally." She handed the package to Wally.

Wally took the small box and started tearing off the packaging tape. Inside the box was a small, folded note. As he removed the note, he noticed something underneath. It was John's commemorative pin. He unfolded the note and read it out loud for Jack's and Roxanne's benefit. "'**This **is for **your **commendable service. Johnnie would have wanted you to have this. Now his soul can rest. Thank you. Sam and Edie.'" He picked up the pin examining it. His mind flashed over everything that had happened within the last four days.

"Who's Sam and Edie?" asked Jack confused. He didn't remember anything in the report about a Sam or Edie.

"Some unexpected allies," replied Wally vaguely, a touch of fondness in his voice.

"What's that?" asked Jack looking at the pin in Wally's hand.

"Something that used to belong to a good friend," said Wally, his voice reflecting a hint of sadness.

"You really did do a great job," responded Jack patting Wally's shoulder as he tried to cheer Wally up. He saw Wally smile in response and head towards the computer section before Jack headed back to his office.

In the computer room, Wally called up Automan. After Auto materialized, Walter turned to him saying, "Hi, Auto. I thought you'd be interested in knowing how the case turned out."

"I am interested in hearing what happened to the sergeant and the lieutenant." Automan noticed the small object in Walter's hand. "What's that?"

"John's commemorative pin. Sam and Edie sent it. They said it was for **my **commendable service." Wally paused before continuing, "The captain said Tang and Kovilli are going to be brought up on international drug smuggling charges. Tang also brought down Kovilli when he confessed to being under orders by Kovilli to kill Daniels and that Kovilli had killed John and to attacking me with the intent to kill. Those two won't be getting out of jail for some time."

"That's great news, Walter," replied Auto with a smile.

"Yeah, just next time I decide we need to head out to the 'frozen tundra', please remind me of what happened the last time we went," replied Wally with a smile.

"Don't worry, Walter," replied Automan, smiling in return. "I think both of us have had enough of the cold for some time."

* * *

A/N: This author would like to give a big, hearty kodos to her three beta-readers and her one loyal online reader, chugirl2526. (And of course to any readers out there who might have read at least part of the story--_without leaving any feedback_! disappointed frown ) Thankx for the feedback! It's readers like you that encourage me to keep writing and posting. Another Automan adventure--with of course Wally, Roxanne, Jack, and the captain--will be coming soon. Make Sure to keep checking my bio for more. Chapters 1 and 2 of Trapped (new Automan Story) is up and running. Please go read it and tell me what you think of it. Thanks for reading! 


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